Botanical: Rosa hybrida xe2x80x98POULattraxe2x80x99.
Commercial: Shrub rose.
The present invention constitutes a new and distinct variety of shrub rose which originated from a controlled crossing between xe2x80x98Kormixal Suffolkxe2x80x99 and xe2x80x98an unnamed seedlingxe2x80x99, both unpatented varieties. The two parents were crossed during the summer of 1993 and the resulting seeds were planted in a controlled environment in Fredensborg, Denmark. The new variety is named xe2x80x98POULattraxe2x80x99.
The new rose may be distinguished from its seed parent, xe2x80x98Kormixal Suffolkxe2x80x99, by the following combination of characteristics:
1. xe2x80x98POULattraxe2x80x99 exhibits dark red blooms, whereas xe2x80x98Kormixal Suffolkxe2x80x99 exhibits lighter red blooms with a yellow center.
2. xe2x80x98POULattraxe2x80x99 has small double blooms, whereas the seed parent has semi-double blooms.
The new variety may be distinguished from its pollen parent, xe2x80x98an unnamed seedlingxe2x80x99 by the following combination of characteristics:
1. xe2x80x98POULattraxe2x80x99 is a shrub rose with a spreading, bushy habit, whereas the pollen parent is a miniature rose.
2. xe2x80x98POULattraxe2x80x99 has larger leaves and more foliage than the pollen parent.
The objective of the hybridization of this rose variety was to create a new and distinct variety for garden use with unique qualities, such as:
1. Uniform and abundant dark red flowers;
2. Vigorous, but compact growth when propagated both as a budded rose and on its own roots;
3. Disease resistance.
This combination of qualities is not present in previously available commercial cultivars of this type and distinguish xe2x80x98POULattraxe2x80x99 from all other varieties of which we are aware.
As part of their rose development program, L. Pernille Olesen and Mogens N. Olesen germinated the seeds from the aforementioned hybridization during winter 1993 and conducted evaluations on the resulting seedlings in a controlled environment in Fredensborg, Denmark.
xe2x80x98POULattraxe2x80x99 was selected in the spring 1994 by the inventors as a single plant from the progeny of the aforementioned hybridization. Asexual reproduction of xe2x80x98POULattraxe2x80x99 by traditional budding and rooted cuttings was first done by L. Pernille and Mogens N. Olesen in their nursery in Fredensborg, Denmark in summer 1994. This initial and other subsequent asexual propagations conducted in controlled environments have demonstrated that the characteristics of xe2x80x98POULattraxe2x80x99 are true to type and are transmitted from one generation to the next.